How the Rolling Stones Got Paul McCartney and Elton John for Hackney Diamonds

The Rolling Stones hadn’t put out an album of original material in 18 years when Hackney Diamonds dropped in 2023. The record was born partly from lockdown restlessness and a desire to go out strong — Charlie Watts had just died, and the band wanted to honor him with a proper final chapter. They called it Hackney Diamonds after a East London slang term for broken glass left after a burglary, a nod to their scrappy survival.

Getting Paul McCartney on bass for “Bite My Head Off” was shockingly casual. McCartney was just in the same LA studio complex recording his own stuff, poked his head in, and ended up laying down a fuzzed-out bass part in one take. Elton John’s appearance on piano for “Get Close” came about the same way — he was already friendly with the band, popped by Henson Studios, and they captured his playing live with the band in the room, no overdubs. For both guests, the secret was simply “we asked, they said yes, and we hit record before they changed their minds.”